


Miss Nadira's Obedience School for Wayward Girls

by SeKa_Kowadi



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, BDSM, Collars, Conditioning, D/s, Degradation, Domination, Dubious Consent, Extremely Dubious Consent, F/F, Humiliation, Master/Pet, Multi, Non-Consensual Spanking, Other, Pet Play, Spanking, Submission, dubcon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 04:29:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20594729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeKa_Kowadi/pseuds/SeKa_Kowadi
Summary: Caroline Whitecliff, an unruly young woman from the Anglean capital of Ostinum, is sent far into the countryside to an obedience tutor named Miss Nadira. What she learns while under her Mistress' care, however, will shock her down to the core and forever transform her life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story involves a Dominant/submissive relationship with dubious consent (dubcon). Reader discretion is advised.

_Dearest Mother and Father,_

_I hope the budding spring finds you in good health. The winter in Portpatrick has been a chill, what with the snow much of the past few months, as well as the ice in the harbor in the town proper. With the sun climbing higher, however, it finally feels comfortable to venture out into town wrapped in a sufficient coat._

_Surely, the Yuletide months have been less bitter in Ostinum. The city feels a lifetime ago in time and space, a curious phenomenon I’ve noticed more often of late. Miss Nadira has engaged me in conversation about the work of Allemagnian scientists on the topic; it seems silly to think of it in terms of my time with her, but it is something interesting to consider._

_I am writing, partly, to advise you of the progress of my lessons with Miss Nadira. I felt uncertain of our relationship in the previous Fall. I was resistant to listening, to absorbing her lessons. I wanted nothing more than to abandon her and return home to your estate. I knew — subconsciously, at least, even if I was unaware in my waking thoughts — that you would be disappointed if I did return home prematurely. I was a disappointment to you, and it would crush my heart to see your faces looking down on me, shamed at my inability to take my lessons, however painful the experience might be._

_The details of our efforts, of course, are private. I don’t imagine you would understand even if I did relate them to you. Miss Nadira’s methods are curious, but quite effective. I will express what I can in my letter, but some of those details will remain between myself and my teacher. Though, perhaps you can already imagine what has transpired between us; I have no idea what your previous conversations with her might have been. Perhaps you knew all along what was to become of me in Miss Nadira’s hands._

_In that other lifetime, before the winter, I might have felt anger towards you for knowing, but not warning me before hand. But now I realize that, had I known, I may not have followed through with your mutual plan for me. Ultimately, walking down this difficult path has proven to have changed me for the better._

_As I said, I will share what I feel comfortable sharing. My journey began in that now distant autumn, when I was delivered by the carriage to Miss Nadira’s estate to the north of town…_

* * *

The clock on the parlor wall struck the hour, chiming several tones to mark the passage of afternoon into early evening. Caroline frowned, slouched sideways, her elbow resting against the arm of the couch and her hand against her cheek. How dare this so-called teacher leave her waiting for the better part of an hour?

She was, in fact, furious just at the thought of being here. She’d scoffed when her parents had told her she was being sent to an obedience school. Her, the most gifted and charming young woman to attend St. Christopher’s Academy; her, the most sophisticated woman of her generation! A published poet, no less, and the most eligible bachelorette in the Anglian capital.

The mere thought of being sent to “Ms. Nadira’s Obedience School for Wayward Girls” was, for those reasons and many others, appalling. Even more so that she was unceremoniously driven up here, two days travel north into the countryside, and essentially dumped into the hands of a servant — a servant! — who lead her into the parlor and left her here, alone, with no words and no explanation. Not even a suitcase of her belongings! What was she supposed to wear for whatever duration she would spend here?

The clock chimes faded back to silence, and Caroline rolled her eyes. She would walk back home, if so necessary, if her supposed teacher never bothered to show herself.

It was as she finished this thought that the sliding doors that led back into the foyer and main hallway of the house opened. The rattle of wood against wood made her jump, forcing her upright on top of the couch cushions.

Nadira was striking; short, black, glossy hair, cut short in masculine style around the sharp edges of her jaw and cheeks; her lips a bright, rich red against the polished brown of her skin. A neatly tailored suit drew attention to every curve and feature of her body: the taper of her waist, the sway of her hips, the long columns of her legs. Heels clicked over the hardwood floor as she crossed the room and settled into the armchair opposite the couch Caroline sat upon.

Caroline recomposed herself, sitting up, lips curling into a frown. “I take it you are supposed to be my teacher?” she asked, arms crossed, hands on her elbows.

“I am.” Nadira settled back into her seat, gloved hands laid in her lap. Her eyes met Caroline’s, the slight upturn to the corners of her mouth sending a chill racing down Caroline’s back. “I take it that you are the horrid young lady whose parents advised that I take her into my care?”

Caroline’s eyes opened wide, teeth gritting together behind tightly sealed lips. She leaned forward, hands clenching the couch cushions to either side of where she sat. “How dare you speak to the daughter of a member of Parliament with such disrespect!”

Nadira sat unmoved, laughing — an effortless, mocking sound. Caroline rose off the couch, hands dropping to her hips, her frown shifting towards a snarl. “You laugh at me? I should strike you for this display!” Something shook within her, though it was strange that it was not the vibration of fire and rage that welled up when she was defied. It was something more alien, she thought as her eyes watched Nadira’s unwavering gaze, something far more frightening. Nadira’s calm left an uneasy feeling in her stomach, and she fought to keep her legs from wobbling at the knees. “I should bring the back of my hand to your cheek!”

Nadira’s head tilted to one side. “Should you?”

“I very well should!” Caroline crossed her arms across her chest.

Nadira nodded; her eyes looked bored, as though staring straight through Caroline, which only made her blood boil hotter.

Nadira stifled a yawn. “Are you done?”

“I am absolutely not done! You have no concept of who I am! No respect for my station!” Caroline felt every muscle within her tighten, limbs stiff as rock. “What are you but a foreigner, an alien in my country? You force me to this… this embarrassment of a school, which is nothing more than a mere country home, make me wait an hour to even show yourself to me, and do this in conspiracy with my parents?”

“That will be enough.”

Caroline blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“I said, that you’ve said quite enough. Be silent.”

Still shaking, Caroline felt her head ready to burst in fury. All of her rage, and this woman dared to give her orders! “I will not.”

Scoffing, Nadira shook her head. “Young lady, you are petty and arrogant. Do you understand why you were brought here? Because your parents, who you attempt to impress me with, find you so utterly unruly and defiant that they struggle to find you a suitor that will stand your behavior. For a woman of your class, that is absolutely unacceptable.”

Caroline turned up her nose. “I am not unruly.”

“You are ignorant and blind to your own ugliness. Your teachers at the Academy find you loathsome to educate; you are interested in nothing but being as loud as you possibly can. You are no better than a drunken dock hand brawling in a pub. Have I made myself explicitly clear, or do you need further explanation?”

Words failed Caroline; her lips sputtered out meaningless noise.

“I am your parents’ last resort. By my hand, you will learn to compose yourself, and act with the propriety and obedience that is expected from you. From this point forward, you will listen to my every command, from the moment you wake, to the moment you fall asleep. Is that understood?”

Again, Caroline stood in silence. Nadira sighed, shaking her head. “Very well. We will handle this more directly, then. Step forward, and kneel on the floor in front of me.”

Caroline leaned back, nearly tripping over backwards as her legs bumped against the sofa behind her. Her face wrinkled at the order given to her. “Excuse me?” A bead of sweat ran down the side of her head. Why did this woman’s voice shake her so deeply? Why, despite her anger, did she feel utterly afraid?

“Are you hard of hearing, young lady? What did I tell you to do?”

“How,” Caroline sputtered, her eyes drifting away from Nadira’s face. She couldn’t stand to look at her directly; the connection such a gaze provoked made her stomach tie itself into a knot. “How dare you!”

Nadira leaned forward, frowning. “I didn’t ask for commentary. I asked you to repeat what I told you to do.”

“I can’t,” came the words, stumbling over themselves as they fell from Caroline’s lips. Even her breathing shook. “I…”

“Answer me.”

Caroline’s throat tightened. “You told me,” she said, her voice sounding far smaller than she could remember it ever sounding, “to kneel on the floor in front of you.”

Nadira nodded slowly. “And what are you going to do?”

A shiver rattled down Caroline’s back. In her gut, she felt the desire — no, the need, she realized — to step forward and obey. Something pricked at the back of her mind; something whispered in her ear, taunting her to take those few steps across the room and lower herself to her knees. She ground her teeth, shaking her head. No! Cringing, her muscles tensed, her head bowing itself as she pushed back against that desire. She would not do anything this foreign woman commanded. This teacher was beneath her, and she would never allow otherwise.

Caroline lifted her head, pointing her nose up into the air; all the while, struggling to not meet Nadira’s eyes. “I refuse. I will not kneel.”

Nadira sighed, shaking her head. “Very well then, if that’s how you wish to do this.”

Standing, Nadira crossed the room, taking Caroline by the chin upon reaching her. The young girl tried to step back, only to find herself without space to do so. She slipped from Nadira’s fingers, arms flailing as she fell back onto the couch.

“Your room,” Nadira said, her voice and eyes equally cold and unfeeling, “is to the right of the top of the stairs. You will find a bed there, as well as a washroom. You will stay there until called for supper. Am I clear?”

Caroline pouted. “You treat me as though I were a misbehaving child.”

Nadira smiled. “Because you are one, my dear.”

Snarling, Caroline shoved herself sideways and onto her feet, storming across the parlor and towards the hallway stairs. “Fine then,” she snapped, looking over her shoulder as she hurried out of the room, “such a child I will be, in that case!”

* * *

The room was as bare as Nadira implied, Caroline realized as she set foot inside. An empty room, save for a bed covered in simple, white linen sheets, a table with a candle at the bedside, and a small wardrobe that held nothing but a similarly plain nightgown. There was an indoor toilet, at least, she observed as she walked around, coupled with a sink and set of washcloths. There was no bath in the room, however. Caroline sneered, walking back to the bed from the washroom.

A single window looked out onto the woods that surrounded the house; far in the distance, the silhouettes of the mountains of the northern highlands cut angled shapes against the gray and red twilight. It was rare to see the dusk in Ostinum; the city’s smog blotted out the brilliant oranges and reds that sprawled across the horizon as the day turned into night. Even if they did not, she hardly paid attention to the sky as it was. Her days were largely spent indoors. Whether at evening parties, or fancy events she promenaded herself at, hosted by her parents and various other family acquaintances, there was plenty to keep her occupied within the comfort of four walls and a roof.

She slipped out of her shoes, curling her toes in their stockings to tense and relax the muscle and tendon and bone. The room felt unnerving; there was nothing to read, nothing to do, nothing to occupy herself with. For a moment, she considered returning downstairs to investigate the rest of the house, only to curl her lips into a pout at the thought of crossing paths with Nadira again. The arrogant wretch, she thought, and flopped herself down onto the bed. Kneel at her feet, Caroline scoffed. She would never!

The pull the woman exerted, however, unnerved her. What could possibly compel her to feel so ill at ease with Nadira staring at her? What could even pull at her so strongly, against all of her resistance?

With a huff, she turned onto her side, clothing rustling against the bed sheets beneath her. It wasn’t a question worth pondering, she assured herself. Besides, the uncertainty she felt, the hesitation, was surely just from being caught off guard by the woman’s command. No one would dare otherwise to order her to kneel, after all. The fact that anyone, especially a foreigner, would be so bold was simply a shock to her thoughts and unsettled her enough to be unsure of how to respond.

That’s all it was, she assured herself.

A gust of wind rattled the bedroom window. Caroline winced and looked out across the room. Compared her own at home, with its soft couch and pillows, pastel painted walls and bright, clean baseboards, this tiny space felt as cold as the northern winds whipping about outside. She curled up on herself, despite the walls keeping the worst of the cool air outside where it belonged.

She just wanted to be home, where she belonged.

* * *

Dusk faded to night. Caroline wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep when a knock sounded against the bedroom door, but the noise was enough the startle out of her quiet and send her scurrying across the room.

“Miss,” the servant — a woman, similar of age and stature to Nadira but wearing a maid’s dress, her long, black, silken hair braided and falling down her back — said, “dinner is prepared. Your teacher requests your presence downstairs in the dining room.”

Her instinct was to resist; surely, that woman would try to debase her yet again, and she was prepared to have nothing of that. But as her protests rose to the forefront of her mind, so did her hunger. Caroline winced as her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten since the morning; a miserable meal at a forgettable inn. Lunch had long since passed, and her body protested the lack of good, nourishing food since the morning before she was sent off on this cross-country journey.

As much as she wanted to decline the invitation out of pride, hunger ultimately won out, as baser impulses often did.

“Let her know,” she said, standing as straight and dignified as she could manage in her sleep-rumpled dress, “that I will join her.”

The servant woman nodded, then turned and rounded the corner towards the stairs. Caroline breathed, wrapping her arms around her abdomen. Intolerable organs, she thought, digging her fingertips into the fabric around her waist. You had best not humiliate me more than this insufferable teacher.

* * *

The main hallway downstairs ran the length of the house from front to back; the parlor that she had been introduced to Nadira in sat at the front end of the hall, beside the foyer and bottom landing of the stairs. At the very end was the kitchen; she’d not walked that far, but the scents emanating from that end of the house made it clear just what wait there. Pepper and other spice, cardamom and cinnamon, tickled her nose and set her mouth watering.

Between the two rooms was the dining room; the doorway, similarly separated from the hall as the parlor was with its pocket doors, was already opened. Nadira sat inside, her back to the wide bay window that looked out onto the cliffs and the Sea of Erin beyond. The sky was a clear black; the moon nowhere in sight, and only the speckled lights of distant stars shone to distinguish the heavens from the inky darkness of the churning waters beyond the cliff side.

“Caroline,” Nadira said, her hands hidden beneath the table, but surely folded neatly on her lap. “I’m glad you’ve decided to join me.”

Caroline gave a curt nod, and then looked around the room. The servants had yet to bring in food; it was likely waiting for them both to be seated before it would be brought in. A warm fireplace crackled, set into the wall separating the dining room from the parlor. A simple, round table set in the center of the room, and while there were two chairs present, the one opposite Nadira was pushed in.

She took a step forward, placing a hand at the back of the empty chair.

“No, my dear Caroline,” Nadira said, lips turned up in the same, wicked smile she showed earlier when trying to command her guest. “That chair is not for you.”

Caroline took a step back, tensing. “How am I supposed to join you for supper, if I cannot sit at the table?”

A laugh spilled from Nadira’s lips. “Tables aren’t for pets,” she said, and gestured beside her.

Caroline’s eyes followed the long, slender line of Nadira’s arm. Below her hand, sitting on the wide-planked floor beside her, was a simple, metal bowl half-filled with clear water.

Words caught in Caroline’s throat; her mouth twisted into a sneer once again. “Absolutely not. I am not an animal and I will not be treated as one.”

Nadira, however, shook her head and returned her hand to her lap. “Do you not see, however, that you are? Look deep inside of yourself, Caroline. Look to the way you behave; look to the relationship you have with the world. What do you see there?” The woman laughed and brought her hands above table, touching her fingertips to one another.

“I’ll tell you what I see, young girl. I see an animal, ever on the defensive. I see a beast who does nothing but try to shout above the men and women in the room. Something that calls out for attention…”

Caroline grit her teeth, clenching her fists at her sides. “I am not an animal!”

“…that even now, growls and snarls when it isn’t given the attention it demands. An unruly animal does not deserve attention.” Nadira locked eyes with Caroline, making the hairs on the back of the girl’s neck stand on end. Caroline shivered, legs wavering once again. What was this power, this sheer force of will, that rattled her nerves so thoroughly?

Caroline pushed through the fear, shaking her head. “I will not sit at your feet like a dog.”

“Then you will not eat. Those are your options.”

Caroline glanced back at the entry to the hall; the same servant that had retrieved her from her bedroom stood, waiting, just beyond the door frame. She swallowed the knot in her throat and turned back to Nadira. She wanted to spit in the other woman’s face; the thought of sitting and eating from a bowl on the floor felt disgusting and entirely beneath her. Her hip started to turn. She would signal her refusal with her body, turning her back on this horrid woman.

Then, without warning, Caroline’s stomach growled, the sound echoing in the room.

She winced, pressing a hand to her abdomen. How could her body possibly choose this moment to betray her?

“You’re hungry,” Nadira said. Caroline watched her out the corner of her eye, the dark-skinned woman leaning ever slightly forward. “When was the last good meal you had, young lady?”

Caroline refused to answer, refused even to turn her face back towards Nadira. Her stomach growled again, the sound seemingly echoing off the walls. Her knees shook, as did her hands. When had she gone so long without filling, satisfying food?

“How long has it been, Caroline?”

Caroline closed her eyes tight as another tremor shook through her body. “The morning before this one,” she answered, spitting the words out. “All I’ve had since is mediocre tavern food.”

“Not nearly as pleasing as the food befitting a Member of Parliament’s daughter, is it?”

Caroline spun around on her heels. “Of course it isn’t!”

Nadira sat back into her chair, laying her arms to the rests on either side. “And wouldn’t good, warm, red meat be simply nourishing to put in that empty stomach of yours?”

The scent of spice and meat drifted in from the kitchen. Caroline quivered; she wanted nothing more than to rend her teeth into that food, sate her appetite on as much as she could. All to be had, she thought to herself, if she simply acted as Nadira commanded. Otherwise, it was cold room, and an empty bed with threadbare sheets, that awaited her.

She breathed deep, filling her lungs with the warmth and spice from the kitchen. “If I sit at your feet,” she said, trying to hide the shake in her voice, “you’ll feed me until I am full?”

“Of course. Obedient pets get fed.”

Caroline winced again at being referred to as ‘pet’. Her hunger was eating at her mind, however. There was no one around to see but the servants, and Miss Nadira herself. And what did the servants matter, in the scheme of things? Her parents need never know. Her peers need never know. It would be a secret she took to her grave, one day in the distant future.

She took a step forward, her eyes trained on the spot beside Nadira’s feet on the floor. Fingers took hold of her skirt, hiking it up, revealing stocking-covered ankles. Knees bent; one hand met the floor, feeling the subtle warmth of the fireplace through the wooden boards.

Her eyes turned up towards Nadira’s face. The woman was smiling down at her, patiently waiting as Caroline descended onto hands and knees. Blushing, Caroline crawled forward, skirts dragging over the floorboards, her toes curling within her shoes as they pushed her forward.

At last, she sat beside the chair, legs folded beneath her. Her cheeks were warm and red, her eyes focused on the knots and whorls in the wood beneath her. It was entirely unexpected, then, when she felt long fingers sink down into the thick, blond curls of her hair. Nails scratched gently across her scalp, eliciting a shiver that parted her lips and pushed a quiet gasp from her mouth.

“Now,” Nadira said, voice thick and sweet and honey, “wasn’t that easy?”

Caroline nodded silently, only to feel the woman’s hand retreat, then strike gently at the back of her head. A whimper spilled from her lips, her eyes immediately looking upward to Nadira.

“When we are asked a question,” Nadira said, “we answer out loud with a ‘Yes, Miss’ or ‘No, Miss’. Is that understood?”

Caroline opened her mouth wordlessly, mind spinning as it tried to catch up and process. “…yes, Miss.”

“Very good. You learn quickly.”

Turning to the entry to the kitchen, Nadira clapped her hands once. The door slid open, a soft, shuffling sound followed by the clap of shoes against floor boards. The scent of spice from the adjacent room was overpowering now, Caroline thought; her mouth watered, and it took every ounce of self control to swallow her own saliva and keep it from leaking past her lips.

Clay dishes clinked together as they were set on the table, an overpowering cloud of deeply scented steam filling the room as the lid was pulled away from Nadira’s dinner. Ginger and clove and the acidity of lemon swirled around Caroline’s head. Her mouth trembled; before she could catch herself, a string of saliva dribbled over her lip, dripping down onto her skirt.

Nadira looked down, giving a light laugh as she watched Caroline wipe her lips clean and try to hide the wet spots on her skirt. “No need to worry,” she said, reaching down once against to scratch the top of Caroline’s head. “Your dinner is coming out now.”

She clapped again; more footsteps issued from the kitchen door. This time, they followed around the table, coming into view before Caroline. Another servant, this one’s hands a light brown against the white cuffs and black sleeves of her dress, set a metal bowl in front of her filled with warm, stewed meat in a thick broth. The heat of the dish, and cool of the water filling the bowl that was already waiting for her, mingled on her tongue.

Caroline breathed deep. The food smelled so good, she thought. She reached down, eager to pick up her bowl; it didn’t matter that she didn’t have utensils. She was hungry enough to eat it with her bare hands.

She nearly dropped the bowl, however, when Nadira’s hand met the back of her head again.

“Young lady,” she said, once more looking down on Caroline. “Do pets pick up their food dishes to eat and drink?”

Caroline set the dish back down again, once more feeling her body shake. “N-no, Miss. They do not.”

“How do pets eat from their dishes?”

“They,” Caroline started. Her eyes were locked on the bowls of food and water as she felt the gentle but present weight of Nadira’s hand on her head, “they eat from them off of the floor.”

Nadira nodded. “Then, what do you think you are expected to do?”

Caroline whimpered. She was so hungry, she reminded herself. No one would ever know of this but herself and Nadira, she reminded herself. Shifting her legs back, she lowered herself nearly to her belly, resting on her shins and forearms, face hovering just above the bowl of food.

No one but the two of them would ever, ever know.

She opened her mouth, nearly drooling on the meat in her bowl. Thick gravy stuck to her lips as she lowered them down, taking the first bite of meat from the dish. Bite after bite pulled more into her mouth, the spice and savory scent overwhelming every other thought in her head. A pull of her throat drew the chewed morsel into her belly; the instant her throat cleared, she let out a soft moan at the satisfaction of hot food in her body.

The embarrassment didn’t matter. The humiliation didn’t matter. She didn’t care how absurd it must look to be a young woman on all fours, eating like a dog from its bowl. She was happy, content to eat something delicious, panting with every bite she took into her mouth.

The sound of Nadira eating her dinner seemed distant in her ears. All Caroline could think about was how finally satisfied she felt to eat. Her head shifted from her food to her water, her lips dipping into the cool liquid, mouth sipping greedily at the bowl’s contents. If this was all Nadira wanted from her, she thought to herself, she could surely play along for whatever span of time she would be bound to this dreadful school.

She paused only when she felt Nadira lean over, reach down, and scratch at the top of her head once again. “Such a hungry girl,” Nadira said, running her fingers back through Caroline’s hair. “And a good one for obeying so willingly.”

Nadira sat back up, Caroline looking up at her with gravy still sticking to her lips. “Finish your dinner,” Nadira said as she turned back to her own meal, dipping a silver spoon into the stew plated in front of her. “There is much we need to discuss afterwards.”

Caroline turned back to her meal. She did not know what Nadira held in store for her, and it did not matter in the moment. She was simply happy to be fed. Something felt warm inside of her, but she discounted it simply as her meal settling into her belly, and left the matter at that.

Whatever it took, she assured herself, she would endure this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nadira pushes harder on Caroline, slowly tightening her hold over the young woman in a bid to envelope her in her dominance... whether Caroline wants it or not!

_Dearest Mother and Father,_

_That first evening together proved to be a queer one, indeed. Dinner was an unusual affair, in how I was seated and attended to. But I was certainly attended to. When my dish was emptied, I was brought more to eat. Miss Nadira seemed entirely pleased by the enjoyment I was getting out of my dinner. To imagine, I had barely gone two days without food, and I was so desperate for a warm meal._

_It was unnervingly simple just to listen to her orders, I found in that moment. To be told to eat, and to eat in a specific manner, and to obey them. I still resisted at the time — the idea of giving way to obeying someone other than myself seemed abhorrent and beneath my station! At the time, my obedience was simply an act, an aping of the steps I was directed to follow, in the hopes that following enough commands would grant me liberation from this absurd school of hers._

_Of course, I was proved wrong. What is important, of course, was that I wasn’t necessarily broken to her commands. I was eased into them. With pressure at my back, yes, and the hot bite of punishment should I try to challenge the authority of my teacher. But I was taught to learn, to accept, and to internalize the rules and boundaries I was given. Further, I was taught to appreciate them, as they are the foundation of proper etiquette and behavior, and are what suitors find preferable in a partner. The progression of those lessons lead through the winter, through the hardest nights of the year. I feel that the fierceness of the cold, northern wind bore than transformation down upon me as much so as Miss Nadira’s will._

_The lessons began somewhere, however, and as I said, I settled upon merely playing along with the game that Miss Nadira decided to play with me, no matter how absurd it might become. Whatever she asked, I would do it, so long as it guaranteed me a comfortable place to sleep and a warm meal to eat._

* * *

Caroline indulged in three distinct courses, each bowl filled with a different, juicy meat. It was only after she had her fill that she finally gasped for breath, groaning under the heavy weight of her stomach pressing out against her corset and dress. Her eyes turned upward to Nadira, who was just finishing her dinner. Her body ached to stand back up, but some deep part of her mind was afraid of the possibility of another light blow to the back of her head.

Why, she thought to herself. She had every right to stand. She was a free woman, capable of doing whatever she desired. She could stand if she wanted. She was by no means beholden to the whims and commands of her teacher.

Yet, the stinging sensation of the woman’s fingers at the back of her head kept her from settling back onto the flats of her feet and rising back up to meet her, face to face.

Nadira blotted her mouth with a napkin, watching as her dishes were whisked away by the house staff, before turning her attention to Caroline. “I see you’ve had your fill, pet.”

Caroline shivered. She had a name, she wanted to insist, but feared opening her mouth to challenge the woman seated above her. “It was quite good,” she said instead, her eyes hesitating to look straight into her teacher’s.

“Quite good…?”

Caroline winced, her shoulders buckling. “It was quite good, Miss.”

“Excellent. See how well obedient girls are taken care of?”

Another shiver. Caroline hesitated to nod, but could feel the agreement deep in her body, no matter how she resisted expressing it. “May I stand?” she asked, fingertips pressing at the floorboards, eager to push her back onto her feet. Why was she asking, she thought to herself. She could easily just stand, regardless of Nadira’s response. But she hesitated to do so until she heard an answer.

“Absolutely not. Pets do not stand, and you’ve made it quite clear that, deep in your subconscious mind, you are eager to accept that role.”

“I do not!”

Caroline’s protest was met with the bite of Nadira’s fingers at the back of her head. She sank back onto her forearms and knees, eyes turning downward.

Nadira slid her chair back, standing, stepping aside from the table until her feet sat just in front of Caroline’s face. The young girl could only bring herself to look at the polished shoes in front of her; the back of her scalp still stung, her hands and legs shaking from the blow she endured.

Caroline hesitated, waited, unsure of what to do next. It was only when she felt Nadira’s fingers lock around her long, tightly-curled hair, that she dared to look up — and only then, because the pull of the woman’s arm directed her eyes upward to meet her teacher’s.

“You are going to follow behind me into the parlor. On your hands and knees. Is that understood?”

Caroline’s throat twitched; her breath came hurried, rushed, her head unused to the strong pull on her hair. Her lips trembled, her fingers curling where they rested against the floor. Nadira said nothing further, simply waiting, her eyes cast down at Caroline expectantly, waiting for the words she knew would spill out eventually.

Caroline bit down into her lip. “Y-yes, Miss. I will follow.”

Nadira’s hand relinquished its grip, letting Caroline’s hair spill down against the back of her dress. She smiled, taking a step forward, looking behind her to where Caroline still crouched against the floor. “Very good, pet. Follow behind me to my chair.”

Caroline pressed her hands into the floor, crawling forward. Her knees cried out at being pressed against the hard floorboards; she relied on her hands to pull her forward, the toes of her shoes to catch against the ground beneath her and keep pace with the woman walking in front of her. Out into the hallway she was lead, back towards the front of the house, and around the corner into the parlor that where they had first encountered one another, only hours before this moment.

Crossing the room, Nadira settled herself into the armchair she had sat in earlier, crossing her legs at the knee. Her hands rested on her lap, her eyes watching expectantly as Caroline crawled her way forward, stopping just in front of her teacher’s seat.

Caroline waited, still on hands and knees. Her legs ached from crawling; her hands felt rough from pulling herself across the hard floor. Her eyes turned upward to Nadira, wide and expectant, waiting for her teacher to give her some reprieve from this humiliating pose.

Nadira’s eyes scanned over her, assessing, their gaze like the power of the midsummer sun as they bore down on Caroline. She waited for her teacher, hoping for some words, some relief, some grace. She desperately wanted to stand, wanted to sit, wanted anything besides the humiliation of standing on all fours like some animal.

“Kneel,” Nadira said, her voice cool and crisp. “Sit back with your thighs against your shins and look at me.”

Relieved, Caroline pushed her hands off the floor, settling back onto her stocking-clad legs. She reached up, brushing locks of curled hair out of her face, a deep sigh rolling out past her lips as she finally sat up. “Thank you, Miss,” she said, surprised at how easily the title rolled off of her mouth.

Nadira smiled. “You’re learning already then, pet.”

Caroline shivered. “I’m… I’m simply doing as you asked. I am a proper young lady, after all.”

A snicker slipped past Nadira’s lips; nonetheless, she nodded. “But of course. However, we’re going to change all of that, going forward.”

Nadira shifted her weight to one side of her seat; it was only then that Caroline noticed the small table just to the side of the armchair, a simple, four-legged stand with one drawer set just below the table top. This, Nadira opened, withdrawing an ivory and silver knife and a simple, black collar and chain-link leash. The knife, she held in one hand, and the collar in the other, presenting them in front of Caroline.

“What are those,” Caroline asked, her eyes darting from one object to the other.

Nadira smiled. “These are both for you, in various ways. The collar is for you to wear. You see, I referred to you as an insolent child earlier, but that wasn’t entirely accurate. No, dear pet, you are little more than an animal, acting on your basest impulses and emotions. A frightened, cowardly, ill-behaved animal that hasn’t been properly housebroken yet.”

Caroline’s body shook. “I am not…”

“And yet,” Nadira’s voice cut in sharply, shutting down the girl kneeling in front of her, “you kneel here at my feet after having eaten out of a bowl on the floor like a common dog. Is that what you are, Caroline? A dog? Because I do think of you exactly as such. An unruly, disobedient dog.”

Caroline grit her teeth, raking her fingers back into claws against the tops of her thighs. “I am not…”

“But I think,” Nadira continued, her fingers playing across the surface of the collar in her hand while she set her knife down with the other, “that if tonight has proven anything, you are not entirely impervious to being taught proper discipline.”

“I was simply playing along with your game so I could eat. I was starving. Surely,” Caroline said, a snarl to her voice, “surely you understand that much.”

Nadira, however, laughed. “You even sound like a dog, an untrained mutt, with those nasty noises you’re making.”

She leaned forward, bringing her head just above Caroline’s in level. “A dog, dear Caroline, wears a collar. To indicate that they are owned, and to further enable proper training.”

Caroline reared back, nearly tipping over backwards, her eyes wide at the sight of the collar dangling from Nadira’s fingers. “I will not wear such a thing…”

“What’s stopping you? You’ve already taken that first step into acting like an animal. Emotionally, you are no more mature than one would be. I made that quite clear earlier this evening.” The grin crossing Nadira’s lips was fox-like. Her free hand reached forward, looping curls of hair around her fingers. “Put this on, and you don’t have to fight or struggle to feel in control of yourself anymore. Let me put this around your neck, and all you need to do is listen to my voice, and obey.”

Despite the mild air in the house, Caroline could feel a bead of sweat roll down her temple. She shook her head. “What if,” she said, voice full of breath, hesitant and starting, “what if I refuse outright? What if I refuse to put the collar on, or listen to any of this nonsense?”

Nadira tightened her fingers around the locks of Caroline’s hair draped between them, and pulled forward. Gasping, Caroline fell forward, slamming her hands down against the floor as her face was pulled nearly to Nadira’s knees.

“Then you’ll be sent back to the room from earlier until breakfast,” Nadira answered. “At which time, you’ll be brought downstairs and fed, just as you were fed this evening — out of metal dishes on the floor. You’ll be brought in here, and I will once again ask for you to surrender your neck and wear this collar.” She held it to Caroline’s face, letting its cool leather brush against the young woman’s lips and cheek. “You’ll have the option to accept, or you will be sent to your room until the next meal.”

Caroline stared down at her hands. Reality was starting to sink in. “And if I still refuse, even then?”

“The process will repeat as many times as necessary. I will get the answer I am looking for, eventually, from you. It is simply a matter of time, and your desire to accept my invitation.”

The collar dangled in front of Caroline’s face. It would be so simple, so easy, to accept. One word, she realized, and it would be snapped around her neck. And then… she wasn’t sure what would come after. The knife Nadira had brandished earlier clearly had some immediate purpose, but she wasn’t sure what that might be, nor was she sure she wanted to know.

Deep down, however, she resented the whole idea of it. Of being treated like a common pet, a simple animal! She was so far above such a miserable station, so far above even her supposed teacher’s station, and she deserved none of this. She could run away. Couldn’t she? But she had no money, no means with which to return south to her home.

She would not, however, could not, accept what Nadira had in store. Everything that collar represented was a rejection of what she was.

“I shall refuse,” she said, her voice shaking with anger, “for as long as I can manage.”

Nadira sighed and sat back into her chair, shaking her head. The collar was set down on top of the stand it had been retrieved from, sitting on top of the knife still resting there. “Then for tonight, she shall proceed no further.”

She clapped her hands sharply, the sound loud and starting in Caroline’s ears. Out of the corners of her eyes, Caroline could see one of the woman’s servants standing in the doorway, standing by. “Please have my student taken to her room for the night. Lock her in until I am ready for her for breakfast tomorrow morning.”

Caroline growled. “Lock me in?”

“Of course. We mustn’t allow you to any opportunity for doing something so stupid as running away. You’re far from home, and my reputation would be imperiled if I were to lose you in the highland wilderness.”

Pouting, Caroline looked away from Nadira — feeling, in fact, like she could for the first time the entire evening. “I am not some animal to be caged, you insolent monster.”

Nadira scoffed as her servant stepped forward, hooking her hand under Caroline’s shoulder. The young woman was pulled to her feet and led across the room towards the stairs. “We shall see about that,” Nadira said with a sigh, settling back into her chair, letting her eyes close.

* * *

The next several days repeated in the same pattern. The door to Caroline’s bare room was locked from dusk until dawn, when a servant would appear in the doorway and summon her downstairs to the dining room. There, she was ordered to kneel by Nadira, crawling across the floor, brought to her hands and knees by the insistent growling of her stomach and the promise of the bowl of food that sat on the ground next to her teacher.

She would bury her face into the bowl, eagerly grabbing chunks of juicy, hot meat with her teeth, her throat pulsing as she swallowed each mouthful. Her arms and legs would shake, both from the weight of her body as she held it up off the floor, and the sheer embarrassment and degradation of being forced to take her meals in such a position.

After each, she would be lead into the parlor, crawling a few steps behind Nadira, until she was once again commanded to sit on her shins and consider the collar being dangled in front of her. And each time, she would adamantly refuse. The scent of the leather and the look of the thing — nearly identical to that worn by a mere animal — was enough to make her snarl in disgust. How dare Nadira consider dressing her in such a depraved instrument!

With each refusal, she would be sent upstairs, locked back into her room, left to her own devices until the next meal. And in each case, she would simply lay on her back on the worn mattress sitting on the cold, metal frame to one side of the room.

There were no books to stimulate her; no music to occupy her mind. No conversation except the constant questioning after every meal from Nadira. With each passing day, she tossed and turned in her bed, her body and mind increasingly restless and unable to busy itself. There was nothing to look at but the plain woodwork of the ceiling; no sound to fill her ears but the periodic beat of the cold, autumn winds rolling off the mountains and down against the windows of Nadira’s house.

She would sometimes pace her room, trying to imagine and process a means to escape. She could attempt to break the window — but with what, she thought to herself. She had no way to smuggle anything into the room, and there was no telling how solid the window was. For that matter, a fall from the upper story as it was would surely leave her injured. How would she run away in that sort of state?

And, for that matter, where would she go? She had no money, no means, nothing but the increasingly more dirty and tattered clothing she wore. She hated them at this point; wanted nothing more than fresh clothes. Why had none been sent with her? This seemed like such an egregious oversight on the part of her parents. Surely, it had been a mistake, and her wardrobe would be forthcoming.

As the days passed, however, and no carriage came with a trunk of fresh clothes, she was left to imagine the impossible — that no clothing would be coming. Surely, Nadira would provide her with… something other than the now-disgusting dress she wore. But no mention was made of such at daily meals, only worrying Caroline further about her status within the house.

Worse still, her meals went from being ample, with course after course brought out to satisfy her appetite, to being pared down to a single bowl full of food. Her stomach’s growling became more insistent and demanding in between meals, keeping her awake at night, filling her every waking thought with hunger and need.

If she would simply give in…

She shook her head, sitting on top of her bed, knees drawn up to her chest as she tried to ignore the rumbling of her belly. Her head ached, and her eyes felt heavy and bleary. A whimper spilled past her lips, but still she refused to give into Nadira. Nothing could break her, she assured herself. She would remain defiant until Nadira simply gave up and sent her home

More days passed, and the routine continued unchanged. Her hands started to shake as she sat in her room, her body curled up into a ball beneath the thin sheet that covered her mattress. The hem on her dress was utterly ruined, and the once-pristine white fabric was now a dingy gray and yellow, most evident where her knees and shins had dragged across the floor. Dark circles showed beneath her eyes when she looked in the bathroom mirror, and her skin looked as pale and sallow as her clothing now did.

When she was brought downstairs for dinner on the seventh day, she could barely walk down the steps without leaning on the railing. She had only reached the entry of the dining room when she dropped to her hands and knees, breath shaking as she sat there by Nadira’s servant’s side.

Nadira looked across the table, her hands folded in front her her, a thin smile across her lips. “I see,” she said, her voice as calm as ever, “that you’re starting to find it easier to kneel and crawl.”

Caroline’s eyes bore down into the floor, hair draping down in curtains around her head. “I can barely stand,” she said, her voice smaller than she’d ever remembered it sounding.

“Come forward. Dinner will be out shortly.”

Slowly, moving her limbs as though they were tied down with heavy weights, Caroline crawled forward, her dress dragging with a ruffling sound over the boards beneath her. It took what felt like an age to cross the room and bring herself to the water bowl sitting just beside Nadira’s seat. She dipt her mouth into it eagerly, lapping at the cool liquid inside, a feeble whimper spilling out from her lips between drinks.

It came as a surprise, then, when she felt a hand reach down, raking its fingers through Caroline’s thick locks of hair and against the sensitive skin of her scalp. She looked up, eyes wide, realizing that Nadira had leaned over to scratch at her head.

“This has been a difficult week for you,” Nadira said, her hand smoothing down the hair tousled from her scratching. “Made more difficult by your defiance. Hopefully, this evening, you will make a better choice for yourself.”

Dinner was brought out; as she had each meal before, Caroline dove into her food, covering her lips and cheeks with the thick sauce coating each thick morsel of meat. She panted for breath between each bite, happy for the feeling of heat and heaviness in her belly, happy for flavor on her tongue and sweet, savory aromas filling her nose.

It wasn’t enough to eat the entire contents of the bowl. She plunged her face into the dish, even once empty, her tongue dragging across the metal surface of the bowl to lick up every drop of juice sticking to it. It was only when the bowl was completely clean, free of any remains of food, that she finally relented, settling back onto her arms and shins, catching her breath.

Nadira looked down, pausing her own meal. “You don’t even attempt to sit up, do you?”

“I feel too weak, Miss.”

Nodding, Nadira finished the last bites of her dinner before turning her attention back to Caroline. “Even after eating, you still feel too weak?”

Caroline didn’t move. “I’m not used to eating so little, Miss.”

“Indeed.”

Nadira stood, pausing when she stood just beside Caroline. “Follow me into the parlor. We will try our agreement once again. Hopefully, this time, you can be persuaded to listen.”

Caroline followed, as she had three times a day for the past week. Memory of where to move carried her forward, guiding her out into the hall and around the corner into the parlor, all the way to her place just in front of Nadira’s arm chair. Her weight shifted, guided automatically as though animated by some spirit beyond her consciousness, until she sat on the backs of her legs in front of her teacher, as she had so many times before.

She sat, and waited, as Nadira once again brought out the knife, collar, and leash from the drawer beside her chair.

“As I’ve asked you for the past several days, thrice per day,” Nadira started, the collar dangling from her fingers, “I offer you this collar as my word and bond that I will take care of you, train you, shape you into the well-behaved creature I know you are capable of being. In doing so, you surrender all power and control over yourself, handing it over in trust to me, until such time that I see that you lessons have been learned and internalized adequately.”

Caroline stared at the collar. It was so simple — a leather band with a steel clasp in the back where it could be locked together. A metal hoop threaded through the center of the band. There was no decoration, no adornments; it existed simply, plainly, a black stripe designed to encircle her neck and mark her as a woman owned by another.

The thought of it sent a chill down her spine.

I would be so simple to accept. To end this game, and accept whatever came with that leather strip, in the hopes that it would grant some reprieve from the need burning inside of her — the need for a comfortable bed, a satisfying meal, clean clothes on her back and clean skin beneath them. Anything, surely anything, was better than the misery she was enduring.

She looked at the collar once more, and flinched. Some part of it, however, still felt… utterly unacceptable. To be taken control of, treated as little more than an animal.

She was better than that.

Wasn’t she?

Caroline shook her head, lowering her eyes. “I can’t,” she said, feeling a shudder roll down her back. Her fingers pulled and gathered the ruined dress’ fabric laying atop her legs. “I can’t do it.”

Nadira sighed and, again, settled back into her seat, dropping the collar onto the table beside her. “I really thought tonight would be the night you accepted,” she said. Disappointment laced her words; Caroline looked up enough to see a hint of sadness in the other woman’s eyes. “But very well. Your choice is your choice. Stand and be taken to your room.”

Caroline stared to rise, feeling her knees shake beneath her, her feet stepping backward to retreat from her place in front of Nadira. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Nadira’s servant waiting in the doorway, standing by to take her up the stairs and lock her within her room. Seal her away, leaving her to curl up on the same bare, cold bed, next to the same rattling window, that she had endured for days now.

She stood, taking slow, halting steps across the parlor. The servant held out her hand, ready to take Caroline’s own. The young girl stared at it, stared at everything that hand, and where it would take her, represented.

Her feet stopped halfway across the room. Caroline froze, her eyes locked on that hand, her mind locked on the thought of her bedroom.

She couldn’t go back. She simply couldn’t.

Turning, she looked straight into Nadira’s eyes, tears welling in her own.

“I accept.”

Nadira’s head cocked to one side. “I beg your pardon?”

Caroline took a step back towards Nadira. Her knees threatened to buckle out from under her. “I accept your collar,” she said, her voice shaking. “I can’t go back. I don’t know what accepting that collar fully means, or what it will involve, but anything is better than that lonely room upstairs.”

Falling to the floor, Caroline covered the rest of the distance between herself and Nadira on her hands and knees. Breath panted from Caroline’s lips, her eyes looking upward, staring as Nadira towered above her in her chair. She stopped at Nadira’s feet, her hands just in front of the toes of the other woman’s shoes, her body trembling as it folded over itself.

Nadira smiled. Reaching down, she took Caroline’s chin in her hand, tipping the young woman’s head back until their eyes met.

“As I said before,” Nadira began, her free arm resting against her lap at the elbow, collar dangling from her fingers, “I offer you this collar as a symbol of my protection, guidance, and command over you. By wearing it, you surrender all power over yourself and put your body, heart, and mind into my hands. I shall not betray you, nor do you irreparable harm; I shall reshape you, refine you, into the disciplined being you are fully capable of becoming.”

Nadira’s thumb stroked back against the side of Caroline’s jaw, sending a shiver rattling through the young woman from her neck down to her feet. “Do you, in full understanding of this offer, accept the conditions of submission to me?”

Caroline’s throat twitched. Everything in the back of her mind, every ounce of dignity and poise she had, screamed at her not to do this. She was the daughter of a member of Parliament. Her mother sat on the board of one of the most prestigious universities in Angliea. She was not some common animal to be collared and commanded.

And yet, the other part of her mind, a darker, deeper, more subdued part of her mind, and yet it whispered: accept this, and give in to Miss Nadira’s control.

She resisted the urge to close her eyes tight. She would look Nadira in the eye as she answered, she assured herself.

“I accept, Miss.”

Nodding, Nadira took the collar, unfastening the clasp at the back. The hand at Caroline’s chin pulled her upward, lifted her until she sat upright on the backs of her legs, until her chin was level with Nadira’s lap. Those fingers glided away, sliding off the bottom of Caroline’s jaw, only to moments later to return, holding either end of the leather band.

It was cool as it wrapped around Caroline’s throat; she let out a small gasp, shuddering when she felt the metal clasp at the back lock together. She blinked as Nadira sat back, her hand once more opening and reaching into the drawer. When she took out the lock and key, however, she realized the gravity of what she had just chosen.

This was real, she thought to herself as Nadira leaned back down, setting the lock through the clasp at the back of her collar. The click of the lock fitting together was deafening, powerful, final in its clarity.

She was Nadira’s now, until the woman decided otherwise.

“Stand up.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Caroline did as she was told, rising on unsteady legs to her feet. It was only as she rose to her full height that she noticed the now-open knife in Nadira’s hand.

Her lips moved, but her voice hesitated.

“Do you have a question,” Nadira asked, expectantly.

Caroline nodded. “Why are you holding that knife, Miss?”

Nadira twirled the blade between her fingers, the steel edge glinting in the warm light of the parlor. “I’m going to cut your clothes off of you. You don’t need them anymore.”

Caroline’s eyes went wide. “But what if I…”

“You won’t want them anymore. Look at them. They’re terribly soiled, worn, damaged. A symbol of how frayed and messy you are inside. Surrender them. Let them be destroyed. What I will give you is much greater and far more comforting than those fabrics ever could be.”

“Yes,” Caroline answered, trying to hide the shake in her voice, “Miss.”

Nodding, Nadira took hold of the collar on Caroline’s dress, piercing the fabric with the point of the knife. The tip of the blade scratched against Caroline’s skin, barely sliding over it, before hooking upwards and cutting a rift through the top of the dress.

With a flawless turn of the blade in her hand, Nadira cut downward from this point, dragging her blade through the front of the gown, cleaving the material in halves that separated wider the further down towards her hips the knife fell. Once there, it was set in Nadira’s lap, and the woman’s hands instead pulled and tore at the material in front of her, sundering it the final stretch of the way to the tattered, dirt-stained hem.

The dress slid easily off Caroline’s shoulders, dropping to the floor in a mangled heap. A chill came over her, the cool air in the room finding its way to every patch of exposed skin.

“Turn around,” Nadira said, her command succinct in its tone.

Doing so, Caroline soon felt the tip of the blade at her back. The knife cut down, popping one at a time through the ribbon that bound the back of her corset together. The undergarment slid down her torso, her breasts shifting until the rested in their natural place atop her ribs, until at last the corset too dropped off of her body, joining her dress on the floor.

The flat of the blade glided over her back and hips; once more, the point pierced and hooked and cut through the waistband of her bloomers, then dragged downwards, separating this as well from her body. Once this floated down her legs, Caroline blushed. She was naked, almost entirely so, her skin prickling at the exposure and the touch of Nadira’s knife against her skin.

“Turn back around,” Nadira said.

Caroline stepped in a circle, pushing the broken remains of her clothes back with her shoes. These, Nadira noticed, and shook her head. “Remove those as well.”

“Yes, Miss,” she said, slipping off one shoe at a time. These, too, were pushed back into the pile behind her.

“Set one foot on my lap.”

Caroline’s body tensed, but did as she was told. The knife skirted lightly over her calf, rattling her body, the taut fabric of her stockings peeling apart as the blade bit through them. When Nadira beckoned the other leg up to her lap, Caroline soundlessly did as she was ordered, presenting the last piece of clothing on her body, until it too was cut away and allowed to flutter to the floor.

“Feet on the floor,” Nadira commanded, “and present your neck to me.”

She did so, shaking as she leaned forward, awaiting Nadira’s next move.

It was with a tug that Nadira looped her finger through the metal circle at the front of the collar, pulling Caroline a little further forward, bending her spine to the point where she was no longer sure she could hold herself up without bracing her hands against the arms of Nadira’s chair.

Caroline looked down, watching as Nadira attached a metal chain to the front of her collar.

“Now,” Nadira said, teeth showing between her smiling lips, “I think we’re ready to begin training you.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nadira's training of Caroline begins, and turns out to be more than Caroline could have possibly been prepared for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter includes a scene where a character urinates outdoors. Reader discretion is advised.

_ Dearest Mother and Father, _

_ My training, then, began in earnest that evening. Miss Nadira seemed loath to waste even a moment of time with me, once I fully accepted my place as her student. I did not know what was waiting for me on the other side of that boundary; I couldn’t imagine it. Part of my mind resisted imagining it, in all honesty. The chasm of the unknown was filled with possibility, and the openness of all the possible options that lay ahead was frightening, to say the least. _

_ Still, I followed Miss Nadira up the stairs. As I mentioned in my previous letter, her approach to tutoring and refinement seemed quite queer. I had never heard of anything like it. I suspect it was why she lived so remote to the rest of the country. Being off in the wilderness, far from the cities and towns of our fair island, made it easier to conduct her business exactly as she intended to. _

_ And how she intended to do things! Even in my state of submission to her mentoring and guidance, I was reluctant to play along. Again, approaching her manner of going about my training felt like standing along the precipice of some bottomless pit. I was afraid of falling, not knowing where I might land. But I was equally afraid, as well, of what might happen if I did not walk the narrow cliff face I had been placed upon by her will. _

_ I would find out, in due time, just what she intended with me. That, I will elaborate upon in the future. For now, I cared not what the months ahead would hold. I was simply focused on enduring that first night under her absolute control. _

* * *

Caroline followed Nadira up the stairs, retracing the steps she was used to walking with the woman’s servant. Only this time, she was reduced to walking on all fours, inching her way carefully along the hardwood boards on each step. Each tug on the chain leash bound to her neck commanded her forward. Ascending to the top felt like an eternity, and she was grateful - after striking her hands, knees, and toes against each plank of wood beneath her.

Nadira neither pulled impatiently at her leash, nor offered her respite. She was slow, but insistent, on their progress forward. She offered Caroline only a moment’s pause at the top of the stairs before a tug of her hand guided Caroline away from the hallway that lead to her previous bedroom, and instead in the opposite direction.

“Miss,” Caroline asked, her voice small as she sat on hands and knees in the hallway, “where are we going?”

Nadira paused, looking back over her shoulder. From her vantage point on the floor, Caroline thought, Nadira towered over head - a great statue of a woman who’s height soared towards the heavens, even contained within the walls and ceiling of the upstairs hallway. “Were you asked to speak?” Nadira said, her eyes narrow, her lips turned in the slightest downward curl.

Caroline swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. “N-no, Miss.”

Nadira nodded. “All will be explained shortly. Follow.”

Caroline bowed her head and, compelled by the forward pull on her leash, continued to inch her way forward along the floor. Nadira walked with her to the end of the hall, stopping at the last door on the right. She opened the door there, and pulled Caroline closer, causing the young woman to scramble suddenly across the floor until she settled, startled, at Nadira’s feet.

“This is my bedroom,” Nadira said before stepping inside. “You will be staying with me here at night.”

Caroline’s eyes went wide. Compared to the bare simplicity of the room she’d previously been assigned, Nadira’s quarters were the epitome of luxury. A large, four-post canopy bed dominated the center of the room. Massive landscape paintings of the northern mountains commanded the wall space to either side, mounted above oak end tables. Across from the hallway door, a grand alcove with tall, dressed windows looked out onto the front of the property and outward to the windows beyond. An armchair sat there, cushioned and comfortable, as well as a small table just large enough to hold a book and a cup and saucer of tea.

Nadira walked her inside, leading her around to the foot of the bed. She gestured at the large, pillowed bed sitting on the floor. “This is where you will be sleeping, pet. A dog’s bed for a dog. Comfortable, but befitting your new role.”

Caroline, without words, simply nodded. Nadira was truly committed to reducing her to a mere animal. Fear twisted in her gut, wondering just how far the other woman would take things.

Nadira lead her forward, continuing across the room to the alcove and armchair. Taking a seat, Nadira settled back, relaxing the tension on Caroline’s leash. “Be seated in front of me. Shins on the floor, tops of your feet flat and pointed downward, thighs against the back of your legs.”

Complying, Caroline shifted awkwardly, folding her legs beneath her as Nadira watched on. She looked upward, meeting Nadira’s eyes, unsure if she should do so, or if she was expected to keep her head bowed until addressed.

Thankfully, there was no blow from Nadira’s hand. Instead, the woman reached forward, unclipping the leash connected to Caroline’s throat before sitting back and crossing her legs. “So,” she started, hands holding her end of the leash on top of her lap. “How do we feel thus far?”

Caroline bit her lip. “Nervous,” she admitted, her voice meek. “Afraid, Miss.”

Nadira nodded. “You’re venturing into the unknown. You’ve never been held to account like this; no one has ever enforced expectations upon you, have they?”

Parsing back over her memories, Caroline considered her history. Certainly, she had been disciplined for unruly behavior by her parents, by the household maids and servants, by teachers and tutors, and others. But her station as the daughter of a member of Parliament often made her immune from the enforcement of most criticism. She simply shrugged such scolding off, defiant and unwilling to bow to anyone intent on imposing their will upon her.

“No,” she answered, “that has never been the case, Miss.”

“It will be the case from here out, pet.”

Nadira leaned forward, letting the length of her torso loom above Caroline. “From here on out, you will obey every word I say. You will sleep at the foot of my bed; you will eat out of dishes on the floor. Clothing is prohibited to you; you will wear nothing but your collar at all times. You will sit at my feet when told; you will remain quiet unless spoken to. You will submit to behavioral training each afternoon. You will present yourself with refinement and poise in front of any guests I have in my home. Is this entirely clear thus far, pet?”

Caroline flinched. The rules being imposed felt frightening, a complete denial of everything that made her a human being. “And,” Caroline started, her voice feeble despite summoning her defiance, “if I choose not to yield to these things?”

A smirk crossed Nadira’s lips. “Then you will be severely punished until you comply.”

Teeth pressed into Caroline’s lower lip. “And what,” she said, her voice shrinking even further, “would punishment look like?”

“Very well. I supposed a demonstration is in order.” Nadira’s smile grew wider. “Sit back so that I may stand. Remain kneeling on the floor until told to do otherwise.”

Complying, despite the shiver rushing through her body, Caroline slid back across the alcove floor. Nadira rose and strode across the room, approaching a wardrobe that sat against the wall bordering the hallway outside.

Caroline kept her eyes ahead on Nadira’s chair, not wanting to turn her head in case this was, in some way, defiant of Nadira’s expectations on her. She only watched out the corner of her eye, only able to see Nadira’s back turned to her, the woman’s arms and hands searching for some unseen item hidden inside the wardrobe.

When Nadira returned, Caroline’s eyes immediately turned to the object she carried back with her. The woman’s fingers wrapped around the handle of a wooden paddle; a corded, leather thong looped through a hole punched in the end of the implement and tied around Nadira’s wrist. She swallowed, instinctively pulling away from the sight of the tool. She hadn’t been spanked since she was a child, and the sensation of solid wood against her bottom had always made her cry out shrill when she had antagonized her minders badly enough.

“Turn around,” Nadira said, her voice firm, “and place your forearms on the floor. Raise your bottom up until your thighs are fully extended.”

Caroline curled in on herself. “Miss, I apologize if I was defiant…”

Nadira, however, shook her head. “Apology not accepted. You decided you wanted to know what punishment looks like. I am going to demonstrate the lightest possibly form I will administer. Positioned yourself as ordered, pet.”

Caroline shook her head. “Miss, I don’t want this…”

“I don’t care, pet. You wanted a demonstration? Then a demonstration you will get. Present yourself, now.”

Caroline shook, but turned around in place, stretching herself out on the floor until her forearms rested against the wooden boards. Raising her hips, she brought her rear end as high as she could manage, her heart pounding in her chest as she stared straight down the lines and whorls in the floor.

She shivered as Nadira’s hand rested against her bottom, the woman’s fingers gracing over the curve of Caroline’s skin. “Such soft, virgin skin…” Nadira mused out loud, fingertips pressing down on the flesh beneath them. “You’ve never been fucked, haven’t you?”

Caroline’s throat twisted in a knot. She kept her head down, eyes focused on the floor. “No, Miss.”

“We might have to change that. We shall see.”

A cold touch pressed against Caroline’s rear. She fought the impulse to pull away, or even just to look back over her shoulder. She knew it was the paddle pressing into her, and knew that looking at it wouldn’t make the impact to come any less jarring. She kept her focus downward, her body held still, her mind fighting every impulse now surging to the forefront of her consciousness to run.

The paddle pulled away, leaving cool air against her skin.

A cry broke from Caroline’s lips as the first strike beat into her skin. The impact reverberated through the lower half of her body, rattling straight up her spine. Her arms buckled, her whole body shifting forward under the blow. Gritting her teeth, she replanted her arms on the floor, waiting for the paddle to pull away.

It did. And then it struck again, harder, swifter. She winced again, turning her hands palms down, pressing her fingertips against the floor.

“How do we feel,” Nadira said, her voice cold, calm, “about this as a demonstration?” Another impact, another jarring blow against Caroline’s seat. The swings started coming faster; the pause between impacts grew shorter, giving Caroline little time to regain her composure between them. “You may speak now, pet, and answer my question.”

Caroline choked down another cry from another impact, whimpering as she stared down into the floor. “This is,” she said, her voice shaking, “a good demonstration, Miss.”

Another blow. Caroline shook forward, only to find that when she rocked back, the paddle was once more striking against her. Her seat started to ache, tingling with rawness, a sensation that only grew louder as blows landed now in rapid succession, Nadira’s wrist moving like the firing pin on a Gatling gun in how it swung her paddle. Hissing through grit teeth, Caroline found that letting out that noise only brought the blows down upon her harder still.

She fought for words, trying to scramble them together between the searing, violent blows against her flesh. Her mind roared with a waterfall of meaningless noise on every impact. Her forehead pressed to the floor, sweat dripping off her brow, her breath coming shallow and rushed and weak. Nothing came out. The only sound on her lips was dribbling whimpers, the sound of pain and the sensation of overwhelming power being driven against her body.

It was a relief, a blissful relief, when the blows finally stopped. Caroline remained kneeling, her forearms and shins flat to the floor. She did not know whether to stand, or speak, or do anything. It was only when Nadira’s fingers locked themselves in the back of her hair and pulled that sound broke past her lips - a sharp cry that cut across the whole of the room like a knife.

The force of Nadira’s hand brought her upright, pressing her raw bottom against the backs of her legs. Caroline watched as Nadira walked around her, her pants shifting, moving over long legs, until the woman stood directly in front of her. Fingers released, then clenched again, closing around her forelocks of hair and pulling back until Caroline’s eyes looked up towards her Miss.

Breath spilled over Caroline’s lips. Nadira stared down, a frown crossing her mouth. “Do we now understand,” Nadira asked, her paddle held against her hip and thigh, “what the consequence of defiance and misbehavior will be, pet?”

Caroline swallowed, nodded, then paused. Nadira was surely expecting a spoken response. “Yes,” she said, her voice trembling, “Miss.”

“Good girl. Now, crawl to your bed and rest. I intend to read before turning in for the night.”

“Yes, Miss.” Caroline bit her lower lip, feeling out the weight of her body as she lowered herself back onto her arms and legs. The floorboards beneath her were so solid, so unyielding, to crawl across that it hurt as much as the lingering sting prickling at her rear.

Nadira nodded and settled back into her chair, withdrawing a book from the table beside her seat. 

Crawling into her bed, Caroline twisted and turned, fitting herself onto the ample cushions that made up her resting place. They were cool, soft, compared to the harsh severity she’d experienced thus far. The pillows were a blessed relief, and it took mere seconds to give herself over to them, sinking the weight of her still-trembling muscles and bones.

Her eyes turned to Nadira, watching as the woman quietly read through the pages of her book. She wondered what the woman was reading, wondering what would pique the interest of a woman so stoic and severe.

She was too exhausted, however, to speak up. Moreover, she had no idea what might await if she raised her voice, even for such an innocuous question. She was too exhausted to push things, and too weak to risk the threat of further punishment.

Instead, she closed her eyes, and let her body sink down into a deep sleep.

* * *

A heaviness in Caroline’s hips jolted her awake. Her eyes opened, scanning the room. Nadira’s chair was empty now, and the twilight had long since faded from the bedroom windows and turned to pitch black night. How long had she been asleep? There was no way to tell, and for the moment, it didn’t matter. Her body was aching with immediate need, and every impulse in her brain urged her to address it immediately.

She turned and sat up from her bed on the floor, stretching out her legs in front of her. The tingling sensation of pins and needles slowly faded from her limbs, and as it did, she tested the pads of her feet against the floor. It took a moment to feel sure of them, but once she felt confident they could hold her weight, she eased herself up onto them and stood for the first time in hours.

Caroline glanced behind herself. Nadira was asleep in her bed, resting peacefully under the bed dressings, her dark hair drawn up over her head as it lay lightly on her pillows. It was strange, Caroline thought to herself, seeing such a powerful woman is such peaceful repose. Though, she considered, perhaps there was a peacefulness in the absolute exercise of power; a peacefulness, she imagined, she would never understand.

Testing her steps, one after the other, Caroline crossed the room towards the hallway door. The room was entirely quiet, and still, and she intended to keep things that way - unsure of just what might happen should she manage to wake Nadira from her slumber.

After what felt like an eternity of measured steps, she reached the door. Her hand felt for the knob, turning it slowly, pulling the door towards her in the hopes that it would open quietly.

It, however, did not.

Caroline froze as the door creaked into motion; she immediately turned her head, feeling her heart drop into the pit of her stomach as Nadira stirred from sleep. She fought, again, the impulse to run and waited instead for what her host would say, or do.

Nadira sat up, rubbing her eyes, turning her attention to Caroline. “Why, pet,” she said, stifling a yawn, “might we be awake.”

Caroline’s teeth pressed into her lower lip. She let go of the door knob, turning to face Nadira. “I’m sorry, Miss. I needed to use the toilet.”

Nadira nodded. She turned out of bed, setting her feet on the floor. “You need only to ask me, pet. I will gladly take you to relieve yourself.”

“Take me?”

Nadira snorted. “But of course. Pets don’t use the toilet. They’re taken outside.”

Caroline felt her blood run cold. “Miss, I don’t think I can…”

Nadira rose, easing her feet into the pair of house shoes at her bedside. Her hand took the leash that rested on the bedside table, gathering it up in a tight loop. She tread lightly over the floor, approaching Caroline. “On your knees. You were not given permission to stand.”

Caroline swallowed, but complied, lowering herself to the floor.

Nadira leaned forward, locking the end of the leash to Caroline’s collar. Her hand went to the door knob, opening it, as she took a step forward into the hallway. A pull from her hand urged Caroline forward and lead her out of the room.

They walked, one behind the other, back towards the stairway leading to the main floor. Nadira paused at the top of the steps, looking back over her shoulder at Caroline on her hands and knees. “You have permission to stand to go down the steps,” she said. “It would be unsafe for you to descend on all fours.”

Caroline sighed in relief, though her body still ached and vibrated with need. “Thank you, Miss.”

They moved down the steps, pausing once more at the bottom. Nadira directed Caroline down on all fours again, and she complied, letting her body slip easily into the posture of a pet obeying her owner. Down the hall they continued, past the parlor where they had had their first introductions, past the dining room where Caroline had learned to sit and obey, past other closed doors that, Caroline presumed, lead to the kitchen, to servants’ working spaces, to other parts of the house that were not for her to worry herself with.

They moved past another open door; Caroline glanced inside, out of the corner of her eyes, spotting the library contained within. Such a space would be magical to her, a place she could absorb herself entirely in fantasies and fairy tales, were she not in her current position. Perhaps, if she were well-behaved…

She was given little time to study the inside of the library. A tug at her leash urged her forward again, towards a door at the very back of the house. Nadira opened this, guiding Caroline through the portal before closing it behind the two of them.

A covered deck sat behind Nadira’s home, extending the full width of the house. Steps lead downward, into a garden filled with bushes and greenery, but not a flower in sight. A well-tended stone path lead down through the middle, towards the very back, where tall trees lined the far garden wall.

To Caroline’s surprise, Nadira reached down, removing the leash from where it latched to her collar. “Go to the trees at the back of the garden,” she said, pointing across the distance. “Relieve yourself there. Should you need to empty your bowels, you will dig a hole and bury it. Scrub your hands with dirt to scour them clean; you will be permitted to wash your hands with soap and water upon returning to the house.”

Caroline whimpered, staring over the long distance across the garden before looking to Nadira. “Please, Miss, I beg you… surely there is at least an outhouse I might be allowed to use…”

Nadira, however, shook her head. “Pets do not use a toilet, or an outhouse, or any human convenience. I am doing you a favor by allowing you to wash your hands. Do as you are told, or you will be punished.”

Nodding, Caroline inched forward, easing herself down the steps from the deck down to the garden path. The night-time wind was cool against her bare back, an alien feeling to her - being undressed outdoors felt savage. Though, she thought as she crawled her way forward, biting her lip as she struggled to contain the heavy liquid in her bladder, that was essentially the state that she had been reduced to.

Crossing the garden felt as though it took ages. Caroline gasped in relief as she reached the trees at the back of the property. Her hands found the tree trunk in front of her in the dark; she pulled herself upright, bracing against the trunk until she sat back with her legs spread and thighs laying atop her shins.

She gasped with relief as she finally let go of the tension beneath her belly, feeling hot liquid stream forth from her nethers. It felt embarassing to feel it splatter against her thighs, to listen to the dull hiss of her stream as it landed on the cold dirt. But it felt like a blessing to finally empty herself, after the tension of carrying it as she crawled through Nadira’s house.

She panted, feeling her body drain, until her stream faded to a trickle, and then to nothing at all. It took a moment for the emptiness to register fully in her brain; Caroline slumped back, resting her weight on the backs of her legs for a moment, drawing in a deep, cooling breath. Her nose wrinkled; the air smelled strongly of ammonia, a potent reminder of what she’d been ordered to do.

Easing back from the tree, she turned around, rubbing her hands into the soil as Nadira had commanded. She let the hard grains of soil scrape against her hands, hoping it was sufficient to clean them, before returning to hands and knees. She could barely feel the hard pavers beneath her as she advanced towards the house, her body registering nothing but the emptiness in her hips.

It was only as she reached the back of the house that her eyes turned upward, looking towards the deck. Even in her nightgown, Nadira looked imposing, intimidating; a tall statue of a woman silhouetted against the dim lights of the house. The leash was coiled in her hand, the end hanging down, waiting to be returned to its place at Caroline’s throat. Her expression was one of patience, but sternness; waiting for her pet to care for its needs, but unwilling to allow any dalliance.

The future felt as vast and unknown as the pitch black that surrounded the house, Caroline thought as she reached the bottom of the steps that lead to the deck. Bowing her head, she climbed upward, waiting for her owner’s hand to once more take her control and lead her back to her bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline's lessons continue, culminating in an evening meeting with a guest of Nadira's that she will surely never forget...

_Dearest Mother and Father,_

_It was with that night that the boundaries and expectations of Miss Nadira and I’s working relationship were set into place. I was entirely unprepared for such strict discipline, or the consequences of disobedience. I was firmly put in my place, and the days that followed would reinforce her expectations upon me with exacting force._

_My days fell into a routine in the days and weeks that followed. I awoke when my teacher awoke; I was given the opportunity to relieve myself, then brushed and groomed while breakfast was being prepared. I would wait patiently in her bedroom while she dressed and prepared herself for the day ahead. I would enjoy breakfast at Miss Nadira’s side, and she would lay out what the day’s lessons would include. She would enjoy her morning newspaper, delivered from town at the break of dawn, while I sat in humble silence._

_Lessons would begin once her morning routine was complete. In them, I was taught to walk and move to her specifications, to sit properly when instructed, and to maintain respectful poise while she relaxed, read, or conducted her other passions and hobbies. Failure would be met with profound physical discipline; success was met with approving words and the reassurance that I was obedient and making progress in my reconstruction._

_Only lunch interrupted my lessons; we would pause, dine together, with Miss Nadira discussing my progress thus far that morning, from my successes to my failures. Once our meal had concluded, lessons proceeded until dinner, the steady repetition of being put through my paces reinforcing how I was intended to behave._

_After dinner, most evenings were spent with me seated at Miss Nadira’s side as she reads one of her books and enjoyed a cup of tea. I would be prepared for bed, then settled down as she dressed herself in her nightgown for the evening’s slumber._

_This was the usual routine, of course. It was, however, a few weeks into our relationship with one another that I was introduced to one of Miss Nadira’s peers, as well as one of her previous students. The experience of that encounter would deeply change me, and begin the change in my perceptions as to the purpose of Miss Nadira’s lessons and the intended destination of the graduates of her school._

* * *

“Head bowed. Now, approach.”

Caroline tested the floor in front of her, her arms, legs, and shoulders aching from moving back and forth across the parlor floor on all fours. She did not allow herself time to fully feel through the strength left in her body; too long a moment’s hesitation would once again bring down Miss Nadira’s wrath upon her. The hot tenderness still radiating off her rear end made that much explicitly clear.

She moved forward, biting her lips, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. Her knees cried out with every step forward, but she ignored them, lips tight to keep from biting into them. Her hips did not sway, but simply shifted forward and back, carrying herself as properly as she could, as devoid of sensuality as she could manage while stripped of all clothing and accessories beside her now-familiar collar.

Even as she reached Nadira’s boot-clad feet, she dared not look up. Instead, she waited for the pat of Miss’ hand against her head. Tension stretched across her mind as she waited, the pull on her heartstrings only letting up when the touch came as hoped.

“You carried yourself well,” Nadira said, a satisfaction in her voice. “You’re finally showing some improvement, my pet.”

Head still bowed, Caroline felt her lips curl up in the slightest of smiles. “Thank you, Miss.”

“Now, be seated, pet.”

Eager to comply, Caroline walking her hands back until her thighs rested against her calves. She watched Nadira’s legs turn and step back, one draping itself over the other as she settled into her armchair.

“Look up at me.”

Caroline blinked, but lifted her head as directed. Nadira’s normally stern expression had softened into something more relaxed, more playful. Her right hand placed the paddle she’d kept at her side all morning and placed it onto the table beside her, before joining her left in her lap.

“Pet, I am going to have company over this evening. This will be a new experience for you, and a chance to showcase your training thus far. I expect you to be on your best behavior. Is that understood?”

“Yes Miss,” Caroline answered. Curiosity, however, burned at the back of her mind. What sort of company did a woman like Nadira keep? Were they strict disciplinarians like she was, masters of their territory? Could she even stomach being in the room with another person like her Miss?

“Miss,” she started, chin drifting downward as she lowered her gaze, “may I have your permission to ask a question?”

“Yes, you may. Be brief.”

Nadira’s answer had caught her by surprise, so much so that she nearly forgot her question. A blink of Caroline’s eyes, however, and her thoughts reassembled themselves. “Miss, what manner of person is your guest this evening? I’m afraid I don’t know what company you prefer to keep, especially in your home.”

Caroline’s head picked up as Nadira let out a sharp, singular laugh. Her right hand lifted, a fingertip tapping against her lips for a moment as they turned up into a smile. “An excellent question, my pet. Very well, I shall share with you.”

“My guests,” Nadira started, “are often the patrons of the girls I train. ‘Partner’ would be an ill-fitting word, though in the public eyes they are often seen as such. The reality is, however, that my guests have similar tastes to my own. They prefer to keep girls such as yourself as pets. This is a mutually agreeable circumstance, of course. These patrons have someone that suits their unique preferences, while my students are composed and conduct themselves with humility and grace to those who take them into their care.”

“Then, Miss, that means…” Caroline said, her voice quiet but clear, “...that they treat your previous students the way that you treat me?”

“Correct, pet, with some variation. Tastes are unique to each of us; some are gentler, some are even more severe than I. But I always manage to find a patron that suits each student.”

Caroline blinked. “Miss, is that your intended purpose with my training.”

Nadira, however, raised a hand between them. “That is not for you to worry about, pet. The only thing that should be on your mind now is maintaining your discipline this evening. Which you will do, without hesitation. Am I understood?”

Swallowing, Caroline looked back up at Nadira. “Yes, Miss.”

Sitting forward, Nadira lowered the back of her hand to Caroline’s face. “Now, kiss, and proceed to the yard. We will practice walking together, and you will remain behind me and at my side, as I have taught you. Am I still understood?”

“Yes, Miss,” Caroline answered, leaning forward, letting her lips brush lightly against the back of Nadira’s palm.

“Good girl. Now, proceed.”

* * *

Lunch came and went. While they dined, one of Nadira’s servants entered the room and announced that her guest would be arriving that evening, just before sunset. Nadira, for her part, looked pleased by the news, and thanked the servant for letting her know promptly. She looked down at Caroline, meeting the girl’s eyes, a thin smile on her face. There was something hidden in that smile, Caroline thought; a thought that her Miss was holding to herself and that she was unlikely to give up.

After the meal, once the dishes were taken away, Nadira announced that they would be going for a walk through the garden out back. This caught Caroline by surprise. The afternoons were reserved for poise and presentation, on two feet and all fours, typically. Learning how to sit, how to hold herself while standing and walking upright, how to carry her shoulders and hips as she walked on all fours - a continuation of the morning’s lessons.

These would be followed by lessons on how to respond to commands, practice at remembering lengthy instructions, as well as how to properly position herself when seated on floors, pillows, and other objects to recline on. These would continue until dinner, when the day’s lessons would end, and Nadira would relax and rest for the remainder of the evening, with Caroline seated quietly and patiently at her side.

Outward, then, they proceeded to the garden. Once down the steps from the back porch, Caroline’s leash was attached to her collar, and she was lead forward, with Nadira taking a slow and patient pace on the path winding through the rose bushes.

“You were curious, this morning, my pet.”

Caroline’s ears perked. She glanced up. Nadira, for what it was worth, seemed focused on the flowers beside her. “I hadn’t expected as such from you,” Nadira continued. “You often keep your voice to yourself.”

“I am punished if I speak out of turn,” Caroline replied. She remembered the sharp bite of a switch at her back for questioning Nadira’s training, the hot, burning sting of that slender staff against her bare, virgin skin. “In fact, I was worried I would be disciplined for speaking up at all, in this case.”

Nadira nodded. “You’ve absorbed your training well, pet. But I respected your question in this instance. It was a humble one, the sort of question I would expect from a pet, so that she may best conduct herself in service.”

Caroline nodded. Nadira’s reasoning had begun to make sense over the past several weeks. Everything she did was directed to the singular goal of conditioning her charges to proper behavior in their new station. What that station involved, she was unsure of yet, but if it was simply an extension of how she had been trained up to this point, then serving politely seemed easy enough.

A question, in the moment, bubbled to the forefront of Caroline’s mind. It seemed inconsiderate on its face, and as though its answer was far more explanation than she deserved. But the question, the more it turned over in her mind, seemed inescapable.

“Miss? May I ask a personal question?”

Nadira turned away from the roses, her eyes meeting Caroline’s. The girl winced at first, expecting anger on the other woman’s face. To her surprise, there was simply amusement, an idle curiosity, the expression one might make if a true pet spoke up and asked the same question to its owner.

“And what is the nature of your question, as my answer to your inquiry will depend on that clarification,” Nadira said.

Caroline summoned up her courage, and - though bowing her head ever so slightly - did not turn her gaze completely away from Nadira’s. “I simply wanted to ask, Miss, as to what introduced you to training girls such as myself? Where does such an interest stem from, my Miss?”

“Your curiosity continues.” Nadira laughed, her thumb stroking along the length of chain leash closest to her grip. “But I find your question is an interesting one. Very well.”

They walked ahead a little further; Caroline found it easier to walk outside, as the cool damp of the grass and soil was gentler on her knees and palms than the hard floors inside the house. Around a corner among the rose bushes as a whitewashed bench. Nadira took a seat upon it, directing Caroline to kneel in front of her as she settled back against the wooden boards.

“As you can imagine from my appearance,” Nadira began, “I come from Ul-Shams. I first came to Ostinum and Angliea as a young woman, only a few years an adult myself, not much older than you are today. While the bustle of the city I grew up in was quite lively, it could hardly compare to the thriving pulse of life in your empire’s capital.”

“I was well-to-do, both in my homeland and in this country. Lavish evening parties, decadent luncheons, theater, and dance were common parts of my daily life. Something, however, ached inside of me. I felt an absence of something necessary, a craving I couldn’t quite name, a desire for something that I struggled to put words to.”

Nadira reached into her pants pocket, withdrawing a small, silver case and a matchbook. She took a long, slender cigarette from the case, settling it between her lips, before lighting it with a match. The scent of cloves and cinnamon teased at Caroline’s senses before long. “My mentor met me at an evening party, noticing my boredom, and invited me to a late night affair over a glass of wine. She was wondrous; suited, as I am now, where as I was wearing a proper evening gown as most women my age would do. My hair done up in looping black curls, whereas hers was drawn into a tight, long tail from the nape of her neck. White gloves reached out for my hand, and offered to whisk me away somewhere.”

“And you accepted, my Miss?” Caroline asked, then quickly bit her lip, unsure of whether she should have spoken up.

Nadira took a long draw off her cigarette, her eyes staying locked with Caroline’s, letting the silence linger between them. “Not at first,” she answered at last. “I was coy; besides, she wasn’t direct about where we would be going. I thought it at first another boring party. She insisted otherwise. I didn’t believe her.”

Caroline nodded. “What finally convinced you, my Miss?”

“It was as she was departing, my pet. I was prepared to go my separate ways, back home, finally tired of the evening. By chance, we were to part ways together in the front courtyard. The door to her carriage opened, and inside, I saw the most beautiful young girl, dressed in the sheerest lace and a beautiful, jeweled collar at her throat. She was seated on a cushion on the carriage floor, silent, her eyes to her Mistress, expectant but patient, and most importantly, joyful to be seen by her.”

Nadira closed her eyes at that, letting her own mind sink into recollection. “I had to take her up on the offer, at that point. It was simply too curious, too strange, to see this young girl who was reduced to little more than a naked pet for my companion’s pleasure.”

“That, my dear pet, was how it began.” Nadira smiled and leaned forward, the slim cigarette she held pinned between her fingers. “The party that evening was beyond anything I could imagine. Owners and pets, mingling, playing, touching, engaging in a refined hedonism that was far more exquisite than any burlesque, or even any lover, I had previously encountered. This, I knew within hours, this was what my heart and body craved more than anything else before. This was what was absent from my life to this point, and this was what made my very soul sing like a violin.”

Nadira took another long draw of her cigarette, the tip of it flaring into an orange glow as she breathed in. There was a light to her eyes, Caroline thought, an intensity that she’d previously only noticed in rare glances while she was being punished. That her Miss could delight in pleasure as much as she did in inflicting pain was an extraordinary balance to find in any one person. To be the focus of both, she thought with a shudder, was more than she could wrap her mind around.

She exhaled, wispy smoke escaping her lips. “As to training girls, the more I found myself immersed into this underground world - and it was an underground, a hidden part to high society - the more I wanted to be that which shaped young women into the pets they deserve to be.” Nadira shifted her legs, crossing them at the knee, the toe of a boot brushing against Caroline’s arm. “There was a graceful power in dismantling a personality and rebuilding it into something refined and demure, and to be the one who catalyzes that change… now that, my dear pet, that is power beyond anything the politicians and capitalists could ever dream up.”

In an instant, the hand Nadira kept on Caroline’s leash twisted. The girl’s neck was pulled forward, her jaw drawn closer to Nadira’s lap. “Now,” Nadira said, her voice returning to the exacting tone that Caroline had grown used to over the past weeks, “let us continue with our walk. Then, to the bath with you, then dinner, and then we shall have our company.”

“Yes,” Caroline answered, already shifting herself back, palms pressing into the grass as she moved her legs out behind her, “my Miss.”

* * *

Caroline sat, patient but nervous, atop the pillow laid for her beside Nadira’s arm chair. Her Miss had left the room to greet her guests at the door, and left Caroline in the meantime with her heart pounding beneath her breasts. What would she expect from the encounter? Her mind raced over the possibilities, over and over again.

She could hear greetings and idle chatter in the hallway beyond the parlor. Caroline’s ears strained to make out distinct words and phrases, but struggled to follow the conversation from such a distance. The mood, at least, was a pleasant one. She was unused to hearing her Miss sounds so genuinely pleased, besides the tone she took during their earlier walk through the garden. Was this a corner that was being turned between the two of them, Caroline wondered? She hoped, but gave room within her heart and being for any possibility which awaited.

After several moments, there were footsteps, followed by Nadira’s entrance into the parlor. Behind her, a red-haired woman, her locks drawn up into tight curls above and around her head, a close-fitting dress of dark red shaped to her figure, followed in her footsteps. “My dearest Madam Nadira,” the woman spoke, taking in the sight of the warmly lit parlor and the flicker of the fireplace, “It was always lovely to be invited over to share your company.”

“Likewise, my dear Anna,” Nadira replied, and gestured into the room. “Please, do have a seat on the couch. I’ve prepared a cushion at your feet for your pet.”

It was as Anna stepped aside to sit down that Caroline saw the young girl standing behind her. One of Nadira’s servants stood beside, removing the girl’s cloak from her shoulders. Underneath, she wore no clothing, her body instead draped in arcing curves of chain and gemstones. Beaded garnet lay over her ample breasts, while glittering crystal adorned her shoulders and reached down the length of her arms. The collar at her throat was dark, black leather, decorated with a silver-framed ruby at its front. Waving blonde hair spilled around her head, falling in sheets onto her shoulders and down her back.

She moved without thought or hesitation, lowering herself gracefully onto the pillow at her Mistress’ feet. Not once did the other girl look towards Caroline; her attention seemed to drift out into space, floating in an aura around her presence, waiting to be commanded.

“Anna,” Nadira said as she took a seat, “I would like to introduce you to my newest student. Young Caroline here has been in my charge for a little over a month, and already she is taking well to her lessons.” She directed her hand at Caroline, who smiled, sitting up straight so as to present herself as instructed to Nadira’s guest.

Anna smiled and gave a brief nod, her hands folded in her lap. “She’s quite lovely. It’s always pleasing when a new pet is a quick learner.”

“Indeed. She was difficult and resistant to begin with, but once I established firm discipline over her, her obedience fell quickly into place.”

“You’ve always been a strict teacher, my friend!”

Nadira laughed softly. She directed a brief nod to the servant across the room, however. “Tea, please, for my guest and I.” Upon her servant’s exit, her attentioned immediately returned to Anna. “It’s what I prefer, and what I find works most effectively. Even the most defiant girl breaks easily when supple flesh is made to burn with pain.”

Caroline felt her heart flutter at the mere mention from her Miss. Had she really cracked so easily? She thought back to the first several days under her Miss’ tutelage. Several times a day, paired to her outbursts and refusal to comply with orders, she would be met by Nadira’s flattened fingers to her cheek, or a paddle or horse’s riding crop to her naked bottom. Perhaps, she thought, it had been so easy to submit, if only to bring an end to the onslaught of stinging pain.

“I much prefer the carrot to the stick,” Anna said, smiling as she was handed a cup and saucer by a servant. “But I suppose it’s a matter of personality, perhaps.”

Nadira took a drink from her own, freshly delivered cup, before setting it down onto the table beside her. “You always have been more the hedonist than myself, true.”

Anna’s attention shifted from Nadira to Caroline, her eyes drinking in the sight of the naked girl seated at Nadira’s feet. Her gaze was a hungry one, Caroline thought with a shudder. She’d never been looked upon with such bare lust before. The woman’s sight wandered from the angle of her jaw and the plush roundness of her cheeks, down to the sharp line of her collar bone. Anna smiled at the wet gloss of the leather band around Caroline’s throat, before turning her attention downward, to the full curve of her breasts and the gentle mound of her belly.

“Nadira, if you please and will it,” Anna said, “may I allow my pet to indulge herself with your student?”

Caroline blinked. What exactly did the woman mean?

Her eyes turned to Nadira, who had brought her hand up to her mouth, fingers tapping at her jaw as she pondered this question. After a moment, her Miss’ hand fell away, revealing a subtle, arcing smile on her lips.

“I suppose. Caroline has been quite well behaved lately. I suppose a reward is in order.”

Caroline turned around, remaining seated, but directing her gaze up at her Miss. Her lips parted silently, the question she wanted to ask at the forefront of her mind. The words, however, she kept to herself, not wanting to spoil her obedience by asking a question at the most inopportune time.

Nadira reached down at that moment, taking Caroline’s jaw in her fingers. “Remember how I said, weeks ago, that I would need to address your virginity? I think the time has come to see to that matter, my lovely little pet.”

Caroline’s eyes went wide. She had never participated in sexual intercourse, much less with another woman! Her lips trembled, her mind fighting with her body to keep from blurting out the torrent of questions that immediately sprung into her thoughts.

She shivered, though, as Nadira’s fingers stroked against her cheek. “My dear, lovely pet. Do enjoy the moment. Under my guidance, such pleasures are few and far between. It is not often I allow my students pleasure. Sink into this moment, and revel in the sensations about to pour over you.”

With a push of her hand, she turned Caroline’s attention forward again. Anna nodded to the girl seated at her feet; the blonde smiled wide, shifting slowly onto all fours. She eased herself forward, crawling across the hardwood with an ease, a grace, a singular sensuality that Caroline could barely imagine imitating in her own movements. One hand crossed in front of the other as she closed the space between herself and Caroline, her hips swaying gently from side to side as she approached.

Caroline’s heart began to race, a warm, tense feeling twisting in her belly as the other girl came up upon her. Hands pressed down against Caroline’s thighs, painted nails bright against her milk white skin. Plush red lips hovered over her own, so close that their breath intermingled, and Caroline couldn’t tell to whom the warmth in each exhalation belonged to.

“My Mistress desires for me to please you,” the young girl said, at once a brightness and an emptiness in her eyes. “Have you ever been pleased, my fellow pet?”

Caroline’s gaze immediately turned to meet Nadira. “You have my permission to answer any question Anna’s pet asks of you,” her Miss responded.

Caroline turned back to her peer. “I have not,” she said with a hesitant, trembling voice. 

The other girl leaned forward, pressing her lips to Caroline’s. An immediate warmth spread over her mouth; the other pet’s tongue was insistent as it pushed inside, meeting Caroline’s own. A shudder rolled down Caroline’s body; hands pressed down on top of her own, sinking them both together against the firm flesh of her naked thighs. She moaned through their kiss; the touch of their mouths together was more pleasure than she’d been allowed to experience before in her life.

Her fellow pet’s mouth broke away from her own. Warm lips pressed against her neck; Caroline’s head tilted aside naturally, her cheek finding itself a resting place on the sudden presence of her peer’s up-turned hand. Fingers teased back over her ear and into the length of her hair, curling through locks, teeth meeting and lightly pressing down into tender skin.

Fluttering breaths spilled from Caroline’s mouth. She desperately wanted to look back, to see her Miss’ reaction to her. As though Nadira could read her thoughts, she found a sudden touch to the top of her head; the familiar caress and scratch of her Miss’ nails against her scalp. This she took as approval, and simply let her mind sink down into her being as sensation poured over her.

Fingers slide down and under Caroline’s arms until the other girl’s hands wrapped around her chest. Her mouth eased lower, pressing kisses to her collarbone, before drifting over the red areola of one of her breasts. The tip of her tongue brushed against the nub there, sending an electric spark each time racing through Caroline’s body. She desperately wanted to hold the girl, to sink her hands into the back of her thick, blonde hair, but an equal impulse commanded her to keep her hands upon her lap, her body wanting to prove to her Miss that she could remain dignified even in this most intensely erotic of moments.

Her fellow pet suckled at her breast, mouth pulling light on her sensitive nipple while the girl shifted one hand to play with the opposite breast. Caroline pressed back into the arm of her Miss’ chair, belly tensing and relaxing in waves. Warm, honey-like sounds spilled from her lips, a hot red blush spreading across her face, as Caroline’s hands stroked up and down the lengths of her own thighs. She had only felt this heat in her most tentative explorations of her own body. Now that the efforts came from another, they were only all the more vivid.

“My darling pet,” Anna said from across the room, her body shifted until it reclined against the arm of the couch while she watched the sensual display before her, “with Miss Nadira’s permission, spread the girl open and let me see you penetrate her.”

The blonde pet looked up to Nadira, granting Caroline a reprieve from the unending heat rushing through her body. Considering this, Nadira looked down, her own cheeks red as her lips curled in the most satisfied of smiles. “Yes,” she said, a liquid-like note to her own voice, “do as your Mistress ordered. I grant you my permission to enter my pet.”

Caroline could barely utter syllables, her voice shaking as she struggled to process what was being discussed around her. The girl in front of her shifted downwards, stretching out across the floor, until her head lay against Caroline’s thigh and hip. A palm caressed Caroline’s leg, before ultimately pushing it sideways, spreading her thighs apart until the dew-laiden lips of her vulva were displayed for all to see.

Fingertips and nails teased at sensitive, almost too-sensitive, flesh. Caroline bit her lip as she was spread open, layer upon layer of her sex laid apart from itself. It was when the girl’s forefinger eased over the bead of the tip of her clitoris that an undeniable cry broke free from inside of her.

Fingers locked through Caroline’s hair, pulling upward. Her head turned up, finding Nadira looming over her, showing her teeth as she stared down into the wells of her pet’s eyes. “Let yourself sink into this moment, my pet,” she said, her voice as dark and pervasive as spilt ink. “Let go of yourself, and let the heat of this moment swallow you up.”

Caroline trembled, her body pulled between the tension on her hair and the fingers gliding down through her folds, teasing at her entrance while simultaneously stroking against her clitoris. Words sputtered from her mouth, her mind struggling to maintain its prescribed dignity and composure as power and grace worked at her from either end of her.

“M-Miss,” Caroline called out softly, eyes watering as she stared up at her Miss. “Miss, please, it’s so much…”

“Just a little longer, my pet,” Nadira coo’d, relinquishing her hold on Caroline’s hair for a moment, her hand reached down to caress her cheek before curling like hooked barbs beneath her jaw. “I want you to last a little longer.”

“Use more of your fingers,” Anna added, speaking to her pet. “I’d like to see her thoroughly spread open.”

“Yes, my Mistress,” the young girl responded, her voice as relaxed as her body as she played with her subject.

Caroline let go a long, drawn out moan as two fingers sunk deep inside of her, curling in the depths of her vagina, pressing and massaging the walls within. She sank her teeth into her own lips, her hips rolling in response to the thrust of her fellow pet’s fingers. Her throat quivered; incoherent sounds dribbled from her lips as Nadira’s nails pressed against her neck, her Miss’ opposite hand petting her hair as it spilled out across her lap.

“Miss, I beg of you…” Caroline said through her rushed breaths. “Please…”

“Nadira, darling,” Anna said, purring as she watched the display in front of her, “the poor girl can hardly take even such light treatment. Shall we relent?”

Nadira looked down at her pet. “Do you think you’ve had enough?”

Caroline struggled to lift her head. Stands of hair crossed her face, stirred from proper placement from the continuing thrusts and touch at her loins. “I can’t… I can’t take any more, my Miss!”

“Then let go,” Nadira replied with a dark whisper. “Stop holding back and let yourself go.”

Caroline closed her eyes, and simply fell into the rising heat deep in her body. Before she could comprehend what was unfolding inside of her, her body shook once, twice, and again; hot warmth dripped down the fingers plunged inside of her, while her breath spilled out in desperate gasps across her Miss’ thigh. The convulsions repeated themselves, the heel of her fellow pet’s palm pressed up against her pubic mound, the intimate warmth passing from skin to skin sending chills through her back.

“What a simply lovely display,” Anna coo’d, fingertips tapping against her lips.

Nadira simply pet Caroline’s hair, brushing it clean from her face, enjoying the feeling of her pet shuddering against her. “Lovely indeed,” she answered, giving a contented hum as she settled back into her chair.

* * *

It took every last ounce of strength for Caroline to crawl across the floor of Nadira’s bedroom and pull herself into her bed.

Nadira was at her vanity, unbuttoning her blouse. Caroline laid on her side, cushioned by the soft padding beneath her, her body still humming with energy from her encounter with Miss Anna’s pet earlier that evening. Curling up on the floor with the other girl after their play while Nadira and Anna made conversation with one another was the most soothing thing she had experienced… well, the most soothing thing she had ever experienced as an adult, she considered.

“My Miss,” Caroline started, surprised by the thick drowsiness in her voice, “was I pleasing this evening?”

Nadira settled on her stool and turned towards her. Caroline had watched her undress before, many times, but had never before paused to really consider her Miss’ appearance. Dressed in just her brassier, pants, boots, and stockings, her black hair spilling down the lean length of her back, she considered for the first time how quite beautiful her teacher was.

Nadira laid her hands over one another in her lap, her lips curled in a bow. “You were quite pleasing, my pet. Miss Anna said she was quite aroused by how you reacted to her pet. Undoubtedly, she is releasing that desire upon that which she owns as we speak, in their guest room.”

Caroline swallowed, momentarily at a loss for words. The thought of Anna enjoying sexual intimacy with her pet seemed unfathomable. She tried to picture the same between her and Nadira, and in the residual heat of her earlier moment, the idea of letting her teacher have command over her pleasure in addition to her discipline felt utterly intoxifying. For a moment, she considered asking Nadira of her own desires. The question, however, seemed a step too far to broach.

Nadira released the hooks on her brassier, turning back to the vanity in front of her. She laid the side of one boot on top of her knee and began to unlace it. “Do you regret me giving away your virginity so freely,” Nadira asked, letting the question hang in the air of the bedroom.

Caroline considered this. In her dreams, she imagined losing her innocence in her marriage bed, to the suitor who had successfully courted her and her family. Not, by any means, to another woman on the parlor floor of her teacher’s house. But as she considered it, there was something pleasing about the circumstances. Something wild and pleasurable. Being allowed to feel, to indulge in sensation, instead of simply fulfilling her portion of a marriage contract.

“I regret nothing, my Miss,” she answered.

Nadira set her boots aside and looked back over her shoulder. She smiled playfully at Caroline, a curious look in her eyes. What was she thinking, Caroline wondered. What thoughts now wandered through her Miss’ mind?

“I’m made happy by your gratitude, my pet. Should you continue to learn your lessons well, I expect there will be further pleasures in store for you.”

Caroline laid her head against her bed’s cushions, a contented expression on her face as she drifted off into the quiet stillness of sleep. Whether it was with Nadira, or with some hitherto unknown individual, if she could feel pleasure like what she experienced this evening for the rest of her life, she would be eternally happy.

What more could she ask for?


End file.
